Chương 13: Episode Two Hundred and Fifty-Seven: Familiar Time

I closed my eyes to center myself, and started gathering the magic from my core. It responded eagerly; not just the golden glow of my fate magic, but the heavy stone magic as well. It surged, not mixing but twisting together. It pooled in the palms of my hands, then it was time. I placed my hands on Lorestone, the granite cool beneath my fingers. It warmed up quickly as bright light flickered through the room. I didn't dare remove my fingers, even as the heat increased.

My bracelet pulsed, including the petrified wood of the Tree. Then the lights went out. Not just the glow, but everything within the shop. Stars flickered around me in dark space, like I suddenly stood on the branch of the Tree that I'd traveled with Cerulean. No doorway appeared nearby. Instead, bright lights glowed in the distance, along with a massive trunk.

The stars pulsed along with the branch under my feet, and a rush of energy flowed into my body, along with that same satisfaction from the last time I'd visited here. Then I stood back in the shop, like I had never left. Indigo flew frantically toward me, her eyes wide. Yet, she moved so slowly through the air, as if her speed had been reduced. The energy remained inside me, a warm pulse under the surface held at bay by my bracelet.

"Sable!" Her voice rang loudly in the suddenly silent room. No one else moved. Finally, time sped back up again as the pulse joined the light surrounding Lorestone, before it vanished. The granite rippled with movement as the wings carved into the stone suddenly fluttered. Then the whole shape rippled again. Excess stone vanished, as a small creature appeared. Not a dragon. Dragon-like, but not one. Wings, check. Dragon-like face, check. Fur made of bark, uncheck. Tail like a cat, uncheck.

Talons, no, hands, almost like a human, but sharper. Smaller. Definitely not a dragon. More like a dragon and a cat that had somehow been combined.

"Lorestone?!" said Indigo, as she crash-landed on the counter.

"What happened?" He shivered from head to tail before twisting in a circle, then slumping to the counter. That warmth inside me from the Tree remained; a part of me, but separate. It didn't touch the connection between Betty and I.

"I have feet!" Lorestone said. His voice rose in panic as his feet twitched.

"How do I use feet?"

"And wings," said Indigo, as she focused on the wings along his back.

"Plus a tail. This is amazing! You are like dragon-kin!" Part dragon, but part cat. My magic had a sense of humor. Or the Tree did. Or he did, depending on how you looked at it. Indigo leaned really close to him and sniffed twice.

"You smell like Sable… and trees?" This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Lorestone slowly shifted into a meatloafed position, tucking his hands under his body, along with his legs. It took a while for him to fold his wings across his back, but eventually he got it. Neither of us rushed him.

"Magic is strange," I said to Indigo. Part of me knew I didn't dare say anything about the Tree. Somehow, I knew that wasn't for anyone else. Professor Eira's ears twitched worse than before, as she finally approached Lorestone.

"See, he shifted to better fit your bond and the environment that you will work in." I nodded slowly, while swallowing. The connection to Lorestone sat right next to the one that led to Betty, but neither touched the remaining magic from the Tree.

"You were right, I didn't hurt him," I mumbled in response.

"Hurt?" said Lorestone, twisting about.

"I can see, and feel and… do this!" He suddenly flapped his wings, though his body didn't move. Waves of joy rose from him.

"I'm glad you're okay with all of this," I said, motioning to his new body.

"I can touch books now! Think about all that I can learn!" Indigo chirped in agreement with him.

"Wait 'til you see movies for the first time!"

"Maybe let's not start with entertainment from my world," I said, before Indigo could plan a movie marathon of everything she'd seen so far.

"My job here is done," said Professor Eira. She bowed in my direction.

"Once a student has found a familiar, they can stand on their own. Your magic is going down strange paths that I cannot help with, anyway." I met her eyes, and somehow I knew she felt the Tree. That was something she didn't dare touch, or speak about.

"I understand."

"It is time for me to find my way back to visit my oldest friend," she said with a smile. Her ears twitched. The doorway to his domain stood up on the second floor, but I hesitated. I didn't know if I should let her use that opening to his home.

"Do you know where to go?" I asked, as Indigo chatted with Lorestone about movies.

"Yes," she said, as she stepped away.

"It was my home for a long time."

"Say hi for me," I said, trying not to ask her to stay. I didn't want to lose my magic teacher, especially not with the changes that I felt inside me.

"Sable, trust yourself and your magic," she said, as though she sensed my hesitation. She reached across the counter and grabbed my hand.

"You are more in tune than most, and you know what you should do. Trust your heart, and your soul." Trusting myself and my loved ones. That was how we would figure this out, and get Betty back to a stable place.

"We will always remain friends," she added. She squeezed my hands with her paws, her soft fur almost tickling me before she let go. I nodded. Then she turned and headed out. Energy flowed into the room from the front door, even as it closed softly behind her. Betty had brought us to someone who had helped Lorestone, but not to someone who wanted the ivory comb.

"So, what do we do with these?" I asked no one in particular, eying the giant crystal, wooden mallet, and stone figure. The ivory comb rested near Indigo's foot, having been moved sometime during the conversation. Our list of things to do also didn't help the fact that we all needed lunch soon, and I had to take inventory of what remained in our food storage.

"What about your list?" asked Indigo, searching the counter. She pointed at the notepad, with my research on it. Lorestone inched closer to the paper, and a hand shot out to grab it. The five talons on his hand snagged the notepad, as his eyes sped down the page. He froze when he realized what he had done.

"It's okay," I said with a nod.

"This is what I found in the e-mail messages. Lists of things we need to pick up for some reason. It goes in the 'we need all this but don't know what for' pile."

"Just having magical items on hand should help the energy of the shop," he said carefully.

"The storage room practically hummed with magic before everything happened. I could feel it before."

"And now?" I guessed the answer before he said anything.

"Not as much," he said with a frown, before glancing at the hallway that led to the kitchen. The storage room door hung out there. Usually. Though, at the moment the door wasn't there, which wasn't a great sign.

"Alright, Betty, do you want to put these in storage, while I take inventory of the kitchen?" I asked before motioning to the front door.

"We can stay here and you can absorb as much from this world as possible. Then, only once we're ready, will I place the grocery delivery order." Confirmation rose from the counter, and Lorestone leaped to his feet at the sudden burst of heat.

"Oh, wait…" He stared at the wood, then at me.

"That's…"

"Betty." He nodded.

"Betty is the other connection inside you!" I nodded, prepared to follow our plan. I enjoyed having a plan, though most of the time I could easily go with the flow. Then again, plans tended to go sideways.